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It was hard not to feel for the American couple seated behind us in the long-tail boat off the Thai coast.

A chatty Englishman was doing his best to strike up a conversation and it was immediately apparent they wanted none of it, especially when he asked where they were from.

We could sense their self-consciousness as they muttered their answer. The Englishman said he'd love to go there but it would be avoiding the US for another four years "because of what's been happening".

The quiet Americans fell silent.

They might have been naturally reticent about answering questions from a complete stranger. Or embarrassed by the never-ending drama of the White House reality TV show. Or Trump supporters, tired of defending their president. We'll never know.

But during their moment of awkwardness it occurred to me that being an American abroad these days would be challenging when so much of the world is appalled by the behaviour of Donald Trump and the sycophants gathered around him - and people you meet are not afraid to tell you so.

That could partly explain the 7 per cent decline in Americans planning to travel to Europe this northern summer, as reported by the European Travel Commission. While the ETC said concern about the cost of travel during a period of economic uncertainty was a factor, "worries about being negatively perceived overseas under Trump's confrontational foreign policy" also played a role.

The ETC found Americans from Democrat-leaning states were more comfortable about travelling to Europe than those from Republican parts of the country.

And it's not just Europe.

An Ipsos Consumer Tracker survey published in May found that 27........

© The Examiner